• Samsung Galaxy S23+

  Peak performance

  $900 $1000 Save $100

  With more screen space than the S23 but a considerably lower size and weight than the Ultra, the S23+ is the perfect phone for the most demanding users. Its performance and user experience are unrivaled, and its drawbacks are minor and few.

  Pros

  • Top-of-the-line AMOLED display
  • Few phones are faster
  • Unbeatable Android update longevity

  Cons

  • Camera software could still use tweaking
  • Some minor battery life concerns

• Source: Samsung

  Samsung Galaxy S22+

  Still going strong

  $710 $1000 Save $290

  The Galaxy S22+ is the perfect middleground between the larger Ultra and smaller S22. It features a bigger, brighter display, but is easier to handle than the S22 Ultra’s phablet-sized screen. Just remember you can’t use an S Pen on this model.

  Pros

  • Bold, bright, colorful display
  • Consistently high performance
  • Android updates until 2026

  Cons

  • Subpar battery life
  • Frequent thermal throttling
  • 45W charging doesn’t actually do much

Following a predictable but sensible pattern, the Samsung Galaxy S23+ is the same stepping stone between compact and oversized as its predecessor was. Unsurprisingly, both have been on our list of the top Samsung smartphones at some point, although we did have some minor complaints about the Galaxy S22+ last year. While the S23+ certainly improves on those issues, is it worth upgrading from the 2022 to the 2023 version? The answer is probably not, although both phones are still very worthwhile purchases if you can find them at the right price.

Price, specs, & availability

The $1,000 release price of the S23+ is identical to that of the S22+, but the value’s a little better since the S23+ starts at 256 GB of storage compared to the prior’s 128. That’s not cheap, but remember you’re getting nearly unmatched performance from either device.

Over a year after the release of the S22+, it’s easy to find it at a discount from both Samsung and third-party retailers. The S23+, by contrast, is rarely discounted and rarely more than $100. Naturally, that all changes if you decide to trade in your current phone, which can net you up to $745 off the original MSRP.

• 	Samsung Galaxy S23+	Samsung Galaxy S22+
  SoC	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 for Galaxy	Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 1
  Display	6.6″ FHD+ AMOLED, 48~120Hz refresh, 240Hz touch sampling	6.6-inch 1080x2340px 120Hz OLED
  RAM	8GB	8GB
  Storage	256GB or 512GB	128, 256GB
  Battery	4,700mAh	4,500mAh
  Ports	USB-C	USB Type-C 3.2, OTG
  Operating System	Android 13 (OneUI 5.1.1)	Android 13 with One UI 5.1
  Front camera	12MP f/2.2	10MP f/2.2 (26mm)
  Rear cameras	50MP f/1.8 OIS main; 12MP f2.2 ultrawide (120°); 10MP f/2.4 OIS telephoto (3x)	50MP f/1.8 main, 10MP f/2.4 telephoto (70mm), 12MP f/2.2 (120˚)
  Connectivity	5G (inc mmWave), LTE, UWB, Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, NFC	Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/6e; Bluetooth 5.2; 5G mmWave and sub6
  Dimensions	163.3 × 78 × 8.9mm	157.4 x 75.8 x 7.6mm
  Colors	Phantom, Cream, Green, Lavender + Samsung.com exclusive Lime, Graphite	Pink Gold, Green, Phantom Black, Phantom White
  Weight	196g	195g
  Charging	45W wired (Quick Charge 2.0, Samsung Adaptive Fast Charging), 15W wireless (Samsung Fast Wireless Charging 2.0, WPC), Wireless PowerShare	45W wired, 15W wireless, 4.5W reverse
  IP Rating	IP68	IP68
  Price	From $1,000	Starting at $999

Design: A united front

Source: Samsung

As usual, Samsung’s updated its color offering, adding a couple of highly desirable exclusive colors. The S22+ came in an OK color selection, with Rose Gold leading the way for standout shades and the blue-tinted Green a close second. The S23+ eschewed the S22+ Phantom White entirely, though, retaining the basic Phantom Black and replacing the others with Lavender, Cream, a gray-tinted Green, and the Samsung-exclusive Lime and Graphite hues. While we’re sad to see Rose Gold go, the Lavender and Lime colors really pop.

Design-wise, both are relatively minimalist, with nothing distracting your eyes from the clean lines. In fact, the S23+ is cleaned up a little more than the S22+, as Samsung’s eliminated the camera bump in favor of three floating lenses to match the design of the S22 Ultra. Otherwise, there’s little visual difference between the two.

They’re nearly identical in terms of material design, too. Both sport IP68 water and dust ingress protection ratings and are wrapped in similar Gorilla Glass front and back. The only minor change is the S23+’s upgrade to Gorilla Glass Victus 2, which improves drop resistance on hard surfaces without sacrificing scratch resistance.

Display: Bright enough for the great outdoors

If there’s one place Samsung didn’t need to change anything, it’s in the display. To no one’s surprise, the S23+ uses a nearly indistinguishable screen from its predecessor, with a 1080 x 2340 AMOLED panel capable of running 48 to 120 hertz. It still covers almost the entire sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces, which, along with a ridiculous peak brightness of 1,750 nits, results in a fantastic HDR experience (for supported media, of course). So while there weren’t any notable upgrades here, none were necessary.

Software: The unrivaled OneUI experience

Samsung’s OneUI version of the Android OS is almost universally considered the best. It’s intuitive, quick, properly animated, and easily customizable. Both phones currently run on Android 13 and OneUI 5.1, but should receive Android 14 and OneUI 6 updates before 2023 ends. In other words, they’ll continue providing a near-identical software experience. Especially given the power of both the S22+ and S23+ hardware, you’ll be hard-pressed to notice a difference in daily use.

The discrepancy between the two comes entirely down to longevity. The S22+ will receive full updates through Android 16 (or whatever it’s called by then), with security patches in the bullpen until 2027. The S23+ is slated for updates through Android 17, and its final security patches will show up in 2028. That’s a minor win for the S23+, but it doesn’t matter if you upgrade to a new flagship phone every two years.

Performance

Both phones debuted at the front of the pack regarding performance. The S22+ hit the ground running with a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1+ chipset and LPDDR5 RAM, capable of running the most resource-intensive apps (read: 3D games) without missing a beat. We had no complaints about its performance then, and we still don’t.

As an iterative update, we didn’t expect major changes to the S23+ processing hardware, but there was one particularly interesting tidbit. The move to a slightly faster LPDDR5X RAM was a good choice, but it’s hardly noticeable outside of benchmarks. More worth looking into is the move to the custom-built Snapdragon 8 Gen For Galaxy chipset Qualcomm’s provided to Samsung for the S23 family.

In reality, the Gen 1+ was simply a Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 with an overclocked peak boost clock. However, one result of that higher clock speed was the S22+’s continued overheating, throttling, and battery drain issues. Here’s where things get interesting: the For Galaxy label essentially denotes the same thing as the Gen 1+ label: an overclocked beak boost speed.

But there’s one major caveat. More than anything, Qualcomm’s already emphasized the Gen 2’s greatly improved efficiency compared to the Gen 1. Sure, it’s also a little faster, but again, only benchmarks enthusiasts will regularly notice. While Qualcomm’s claims of 40% improved efficiency are most likely exaggerated in real-world use, if it’s using less electricity, it’s not going to get quite so hot. With the S23+ using less electricity and not getting as hot, it can sustain peak performance levels for longer without throttling. With thermal throttling emerging as a notable long-term issue with the S22+, this chipset upgrade delivers the S23+ a clear win over the phone it replaced.

Battery and charging: Subtle changes, big difference

Source: Samsung

Battery life was easily our biggest gripe with the Galaxy S22+. The inexplicably small 4,500mAh cell, coupled with the high-powered processor and super-bright screen, fell significantly short of what we want from a $1,000 phone.

This time, the S23+ only increases the battery capacity by 200 mAh. More importantly, though, the more efficient Gen 2 For Galaxy chipset has so far proven (in real-world, hands-on testing) that battery life issues are now relatively rare. Sure, it’s not difficult to run through an entire battery in less than a day if you’re constantly gaming or engaging in other heavy use patterns without topping off. Unlike in our long-term tests of the S22+, though, we’ve never been disappointed with or insecure about daily battery performance. If you’re sparing with your usage and enable power saving mode, it’s not hard to stretch your device’s life over more than a day without topping it off.

The news regarding charging speed is a little less encouraging. Galaxy S22+ charging speeds were nothing to write home about, and the S23+ isn’t really any better. Measuring the current during charging makes it clear why: The S23+ rarely gets above a peak of 25 watts, especially when it’s at 50% charge or more. While we realize charging is a dynamic process that always works faster at low capacity, this renders the inclusion of 45W Super Fast Charging useless. Nonetheless, the S23+’s efficiency does afford it a win in the battery life category. It also retains the ability to reverse-charge small accessories, like the esteemed Galaxy Buds 2 Pro or Galaxy Watch 5.

Cameras: Almost there, with minor quibbles

The S22+ and S23+ have essentially identical camera hardware. It’s true that at launch, we were less than impressed by the performance of the $1,000 S22+. Samsung does a great job designing and assembling camera arrays, but it can’t touch Google, for example, when taking perfect smartphone pictures.

For better or worse, this is partly a software issue. Samsung’s continued to tweak its imaging algorithms since the S22+ hit the market, and while it was never horrible, it’s better now than ever. In that light, the S23+ does have a minor advantage due to its increased chipset clock speed and reduced power usage. The marginal improvements in processing power and efficiency help it to work just a hair quicker when taking photos, which is one of the most resource-intensive parts of the smartphone experience.

All this is to say, they both take great pictures—maybe not quite the best in the world, but still better than most other phones. And while the S23+ camera does work a little more quickly, it’s up to Samsung to continue improving the imaging software. Thankfully, those improvements started a long time ago and, ostensibly, will continue happening moving forward.

Should you upgrade?

For most people, the short and simple answer to this question is an unqualified no. The Galaxy S22+ still boasts industry-leading performance, display quality, and software implementation. It’s increasingly clear that major smartphone updates only come once every two or three years, and the S23+ is an iterative upgrade to an already great phone. It may introduce interesting updates like the overclocked, high-efficiency Snapdragon For Galaxy variant, but you probably won’t notice a difference. Your S22+ should remain powerful and effective until it hits end of life, years from now.

Samsung Galaxy S23+

One of the best there is

$900 $1000 Save $100

It’s hard to argue against the middle child in Samsung’s 2023 flagship lineup. Tons of screen space, moderate size and weight, ever-improving camera quality, and unrivaled performance make it a beast that competes for the title of today’s best Android phone.

If you don’t own an S22+ or S23+ and can’t decide which to get, they’re both great devices. If you can find the S22+ for a few hundred less than its successor and are willing to watch your battery life just a bit, it’s a worthwhile proposition. But if you’re looking to move into the flagship category for the first time and stick with it for a few years, we recommend going with the S23+ due to its better efficiency and the extra year of Android updates.

Source: Samsung

Samsung Galaxy S22+

Not to be overlooked

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There’s nothing majorly wrong with the S22+, and it will continue to perform extremely well for years to come. It might need a battery top-off every now and then if use it heavily throughout the day, but it delivers most of the same positives as the phone that followed it.